Diablo 3 review

[Robster]

Totally loving this, I am a Diablo virgin so to speak so cant compare to previous versions .

I have played Sacred 2 and found it a bit drab and cant help thingking Diablo is so superior and Sacred was a poor console clone of Diablo.

Loving the story too and taking my time mapping and looting. Dont mind the grinding at all playing as a Wizard but Im unsure how a barbarian would feel grinding, maybe it would be too much of a grind... boom boom.

One pet hate though, I forgot to adjust online settings and a random joined my game and progressed the quest I was doing to the boss battle without me being there.

After he left my story had been advanced and I had to retrace my steps. Same thing happened when I joined a game which was on chapter 2 and I returned to my solo game on chapter 1 and my game started at chapter 2.

Point being, surely Blizzard could have integrated the online co-op a bit better in order to protect your single player game jumping all over the place.

Besides that minor grumble really enjoying this.

[Golgo]

That mission jump thing can be really disconcerting. Also, it's really ennoying if you join an online game without finishing all the components of a quest you're currently on, which means you've got to start yours over from scratch. Once I joined a more advanced game which unlocked a new NPC who came to live in my hub world. Spent ages talking to him, buying his stuff etc. Then 'met' him again much later on for the 'first time' when I went back to my own quest line. Don't see how they could have remedied this, though. Borderlands 2 was the same.

[eastyy]

Got this for the xbox 360 and I have to say finding it alot better then the pc version. No always online and auction house has made a massive difference but there are other things to like how well it works on joy pad the better loot drops and a better inventory system

[eastyy]

So downloaded the latest patch and played for about 30 min quite a few changes

Firstly menus have been reworked and look a lot better and the fast travel points are shown as a map rather then just a list of places.

Graphics seems a bit better and the lag is much improved

the monster level and difficulty levels have changed now you select normal/hard/expert/master and torment there is a slider with torment to increase if further (And of course you get bonuses for higher difficulty same as before)

paragon levels are changed now there is no limit and now for every paragon level you get a skill point which you can put into various stats like dex/skill cool down time/life recovery etc.

Seem to get Exp a lot quicker plus if you can find the pools of reflection in game will give a 25% increase (and i think it stacks up to 3 times)

probably a lot more tweaks aswell one difference i am finding is there is not as many loot drops as before (a gold chest would often net me 5+ items now few times i used one got 3)

[Brad]

When's the PS4 version coming?

[eastyy]

dont think there is a set date just 2014

[Shoju]

So downloaded the latest patch and played for about 30 min quite a few changes

Firstly menus have been reworked and look a lot better and the fast travel points are shown as a map rather then just a list of places.

Graphics seems a bit better and the lag is much improved

the monster level and difficulty levels have changed now you select normal/hard/expert/master and torment there is a slider with torment to increase if further (And of course you get bonuses for higher difficulty same as before)

paragon levels are changed now there is no limit and now for every paragon level you get a skill point which you can put into various stats like dex/skill cool down time/life recovery etc.

Seem to get Exp a lot quicker plus if you can find the pools of reflection in game will give a 25% increase (and i think it stacks up to 3 times)

probably a lot more tweaks aswell one difference i am finding is there is not as many loot drops as before (a gold chest would haveten net me 5+ items now few times i used one got 3)

Do you actually get some choice in how to apply stat points now rather than it all being automatic? That's something I really didn't like about Diablo 3.

[eastyy]

Do you actually get some choice in how to apply stat points now rather than it all being automatic? That's something I really didn't like about Diablo 3.

the way it works that i can gather so far

there are 4 categorys core/offense/defense/utility when you get your first point you can put it into a core stat but with assassin its dexterity/vitality/movement speed and max hatred.When you get your second point you can put it into a offense and then a 3rd point into defense and so on

So yep you have more control now though you dont get paragon points untill level 60 i really really wish you could improve the skills though as there are a few attacks i use a lot and wish could be improved

oh seems to be that the paragon level also acts a bit like badass rank in borderlands 2 carrys on to other characters

[Silvergun X]

Patch 2.0.1 has completely revitalised the game and changed an absolute ton.

The old system of Normal, Nightmare, Hell and Inferno is completely gone. This is now replaced with Normal, Hard, Expert, Master, and Torment.

Normal, Hard and Expert can all be chosen right from the beginning. You get XP and Gold Find bonuses for setting the level higher, but enemies are, as you'd expect, much tougher.

Master can be chosen once you've finished the game a single time, and Torment can be chosen once you have a character to level 60.

Torment can be adjusted depending on how rock hard you want it to be. There's a difficulty slide purely for Torment, where you can take it from difficulty 1 to difficulty 6, which scales as follows:

Torment I: 819% Health, 396% Damage, 300% extra gold bonus, 300% extra XP bonus
Torment II: 1311% Health, 575% Damage, 400% extra gold bonus, 400% extra XP bonus
Torment III: 2097% Health, 833% Damage, 550% extra gold bonus, 550% extra XP bonus
Torment IV: 3355% Health, 1208% Damage, 800% extra gold bonus, 800% extra XP bonus
Torment V: 5369% Health, 1752% Damage, 1150% extra gold bonus, 1150% extra XP bonus
Torment VI: 8590% Health, 2540% Damage, 1600% extra gold bonus, 1600% extra XP bonus

There have also been radical buffs/nerfs in all of the classes, and a gigantic nerf to Lifesteal in general, which has its effectiveness completely reduced by 90% as soon as you hit Level 60.

When you're levelling, the game will always scale enemy difficulty to your level. This kinda renders levelling pointless as no matter where you are in the game, you'll be against enemies matching your level. This changes in Torment, where your gear is what matters. Same as Inferno, but much, much fairer.

I was really heavily into this when it first came out throughout the levelling procedure, but previously once you hit 60 and started getting to the ridiculous difficulty of Inferno, you practically relied on the auction house for all the best gear (and even then all you cared about was a single stat) as the loot system was absolutely appalling. Trying to find anything yourself was an extreme chore. That's now changed.

All the loot that you've obtained before Patch 2.0.1 is ****e in comparison to the rares and legendaries that you'll be picking up now. A friend of mine, who finished Inferno mode before the patch as a Barbarian, had his playstyle completely flipped upside down because of the class changes that have come into effect with this patch as well. He was barely able to scratch the first few mobs in Torment. Chugging through it we both managed to get some absolutely amazing new pieces of gear (including a Legendary ring with exactly the stats he was looking for). Gear you pick up is now definitely more focused on your character and the stats that matter to you.

Legendaries also now have more interesting abilities attached to them. Instead of just being good stats, you can get a ring that summons a treasure goblin that collects all the crap quality drops on the ground and turns them into rares, or a quiver for the demon hunter that lets him place an additional 2 sentries, etc.

My only fault (and I don't know if this is a fault, as I did this and enjoyed it) is that powerlevelling has become extremely easy to do. There are immediate plans for this to be hotfixed and in some very extreme ways it already has been, but I was able to get a fresh level 1 Demon Hunter to level 60 in a few hours by joining my friend's torment 1 session and rinsing the first act out. Get in while you can with this though, as reducing this effectiveness is currently a planned hotfix. (It may already be in place)

All the new legendary drops are also bind on account, and cannot be auctioned off on the auction house, which is going to be shutting down as soon as Reaper of Souls is out. You can buy old gear, but all the REALLY nice stuff that's now dropping, you need to find for yourself.

It's really turned the game's biggest flaw around, and turned Diablo 3 into what it should've been in the first place, in my opinion.

Now I can't wait for RoS / Act 5 / the Journey to level 70 and all the new gear without any auction house whatsoever.

If anyone wants to add me on battle.net and do some Torment runs, lemme know as I'll be on this for a while.

[Shoju]

Level scaling? I really don't like the sound of that. How is it working out?

[dataDave]

I might give this another try. I was massively disappointed with launch D3 by Inferno Act II.

[Silvergun X]

I might give this another try. I was massively disappointed with launch D3 by Inferno Act II.

Buzz me a PM if you do. Demon Hunter and Barb here doing regular torment runs nightly. If we get my lady up to 60 soon (which is likely) then we'll have a 4 man Torment party.

Level scaling? I really don't like the sound of that. How is it working out?

I certainly don't feel negatively about it, but I can understand it's somewhat weird. After all, you level to surpass areas that you previously couldn't, whereas now everything scales to your level.

Elites and Champion mobs do get tougher and the game does get harder the more you level, but it's certainly strange going back through Act 1 to find the enemies are still as tough as you.

I think it's all about the dynamic difficulty now. You can effectively change between Normal, Hard and Expert whenever you feel like it (and of course Master unlocks when you've finished), so if you're finding you're getting geared up and the scaling monsters just aren't providing challenge, you can whack it all the way up to Expert and enjoy things a bit more, progressing through the levels much faster.

My lady and I started new characters on Expert difficulty and had some great fun, we're at the part where you're collecting Zoltan Kulle's parts in Act 2 and she's currently level 36, just through normal progression. Levelling is a lot faster, and Expert is still pretty easy to us.

My personal opinion is that the difficulties should be treated as follows, in Diablo 3 -> Diablo 2 terms:

Normal/Hard/Expert -> Normal
Master -> Nightmare
Torment -> Hell / Hell+

Paragon levels are also much, much faster. Because there's now no paragon cap, just an exponential increase in experience until next level, my friend and I have both now managed Paragon 40+ within the space of a couple of days normal play on Torment I and II.

The overall quality of loot is absolutely phenominal now. Legendaries regularly drop with varying degrees of quality, to the point where Rares should now be Uncommons, and Legendaries should be Rares. That said, if you've ever played Phantasy Star Online and you get that little buzz whenever a red box appears, it's exactly the same thing on here. A legendary drops and things get very exciting, and it happens regularly enough for it to keep things interesting a lot of the time.

There are some REALLY interesting pieces of gear now:

A legendary chest armour dropped for my Demon Hunter yesterday that augments my Wolf Companion skill, summoning 3 wolves instead of just 1.

My legendary bracers will summon a champion mob every time I activate a shrine.

My legendary gloves make a bundle of gold appear every time I score a Massacre bonus (and it's not an insignificant amount either!)

Other examples of loot include gear that will fire a homing rocket for 150% weapon damage every time a ranged attack hits you or gets dodged, a shield that activates itself for 20% of your effective health whenever you're surrounded by 5 or more enemies, pants that cause you to fart and cause a gas cloud for 250% poison damage every second for 10 seconds when surrounded (seriously), a 'Pus Shooter' crossbow that has a 47% chance to fire an acid blob whenever you attack... It's incredible, very fun, and very unpredictable.

There's now a LOT more to things than just aiming for your primary stat and leaving everything at that, loot generally got a ton more interesting throughout all levels, not just endgame.

The new loot also provides some really good opportunities for switching out builds and replacing skills - Finding an amulet that reduces your damage by 5% for example, but increases one of your skills by 15%, or an elemental damage type by 20%, so you build around that particular type of damage and come up with some REALLY high damaging, unusual builds that you wouldn't have done before.

Going back to the level scaling though - It's not such a bad thing because of how the difficulties work now. Your first playthrough will be ridiculously easy, just like Normal was in the old levelling/difficulty system.

Master and Torment will provide most of your challenge, and the scaling Torment difficulty slider is incredible. My friend and I have finished the game on Torment I without much of an issue at all, but Torment III completely screws the both of us over, while making it worthwhile with drop rate increases, experience increases and everything else that comes with it.

Overall, after a few days of playing with the patch, it's an incredibly positive step in the right direction and I can't wait for the RoS content.

[dataDave]

Well, I'll just stick to Witch Doctor.

I won't be playing much as I'm back in Guitar Mode.

Downloading now whilst my laptop is at work on the super-fast Interwipez.

[eastyy]

Well, I'll just stick to Witch Doctor.

I won't be playing much as I'm back in Guitar Mode.

.

do you mean playing the guitar ? or guitar hero ?


played a bit more loot drops seem ok but beat the butcher on master mode (level 60 assassin 39 paragon) and was really disapointed only got 5 magic drops (no rares at all )

I really like quests give far better rewards and exp now i am really hoping they add more content to existing acts later on

Got to say not played multiplayer yet (and most games i never do ) reasons are i tend to die a lot the lag is annoying and i just dont have much time to put into that (i tend to play games for short amount of time)

[dataDave]

Guitar Hero?

Seriously?